Tori Wisell feels proud about what her horse farm has had to offer the community over the last 18 years. We talked recently about Prophet Hill Farm, her horseback riding facility over in Rindge, while sitting at a picnic table under a choke cherry tree on the farm’s grounds.
The impact Wisell has had on many over the years came into focus as we chatted. Prophet Hill Farm sits at the top of a winding driveway lined with old sugar maples. Wisell lives at her farm in a house that she says was once a tavern and dates back to the mid 1700s.
“But I’m not a house person – I’m a horse person!” she tells me with a laugh. The barn on Wisell’s property is an interesting style called a bank barn – a two-story barn built into the side of a hill – which she tells me keeps temperatures cooler in the summer and a tiny bit warmer in the winter. Attached to the barn are indoor and outdoor riding spaces.
Wisell teaches balanced-seat riding skills to adults, older children and teens, but her work goes beyond teaching individuals to ride horses for pleasure or competition.
“During COVID, people came to me looking for outdoor experiences and individual activities, a temporary escape from the stresses of life, something horseback riding has to offer.” Wisell tells me. She saw an increase in interest in her farm, a peaceful outlet for people during the pandemic. Many of those riders have continued at Prophet Hill Farm even as pandemic concerns lessened.
Wisell also sees the importance of her farm to many women who are at an age where they are “finding” themselves again, doing something for themselves as their children grow older and time is freed up a bit.
“Many riders are returning to horseback riding in later adulthood, after devoting the first half of adulthood to families and/or careers,” she says. Wisell refers to these students as “re-riders.”
For some, riding has just always been something they’ve wanted to try. One of Wisell’s students, in her youthful 60s, took up riding for the first time this spring, and is going strong with weekly riding sessions at Prophet Hill Farm.
Young adult riders have also trained or interned with Wisell at Prophet Hill. Working students and interns have graduated, so to speak, from her farm and gone on to run their own horse barns or have entered the field of veterinary medicine. I can sense the pride Wisell feels about the impact she has had on younger horsemen.
But in our chat, watching the 10 or so horses grazing in the paddocks and pastures around us, Wisell is clear that it is the animals that she is most passionate about.
“Once a horse comes to me, it usually stays with me. I’m a lifetime owner, and my horses get a pretty nice retirement plan.” Wisell says. She has rescued and rehabbed many horses, offering them a pretty good life, with enough work and rest to keep them healthy and happy. And judging by the peppermint treats she lets my daughter feed them while we visit, it seems like a pretty sweet deal to me too.
To learn more about Prophet Hill Farm, contact Tori Wisell at phf-eventer@earthlink.net
A very happy anniversary to my very best friend and husband, Chris. May the adventure continue!
Thank you to readers who have reached out to share their Rindge stories! Please continue to do so … a memorable interaction, special anniversary or birthday, interesting happening or upcoming event – please share them with me at rindgecommcorr@yahoo.com so we can tell the region about this wonderful community.